The Loyal Son
by Helena Mira
Summary: Butch finds himself in difficulties on the playground when gossip about his Mom and Dad gets back to him. His grandfather steps in to help him figure it out and is pleased to discover that he is such a loyal son to his new mother.


_Butch finds dealing with the rumors at school a challenge that leads to him thinking about his parents' relationship. Fortunately, his grandfather is there to help him sort it out._

_I do not own these characters and make no profit from this story_

**The Loyal Son**

**Prologue: Kissing**

"Oh man!" said Butch. That was his automatic response to seeing his Dad and his Mom kissing. And they sure did a lot of kissing. They had done a lot of kissing before they got married, but at least in the beginning they had tried to hide it. It had gotten worse later, but now that they were married, it seemed like there was no stopping them. He thought that it was gross, why would anyone want to get inside someone else's mouth and . . .

It wasn't until he caught them kissing when they thought no one was around that he realized that all the kissing that people did on TV was fake. Of course now that he knew what real kissing was like, he could understand why people who weren't married to each other wouldn't want to do it. One time when the kids were together, they had had a discussion about it. It was pretty funny.

Hal turned red every time the subject came up. Prudence was a kid so she didn't understand. Trelawney was funny. Because she was Mom's sister, she liked to tease her and Dad, mostly her, about it. That bothered Hal, because he said that it was disrespectful but he figured that that was because he didn't like it when Butch teased him.

Trelawney always used to say that it was "perfectly natural." That made sense. He thought that it was perfectly natural for him to tease Hal. Therefore it was perfectly natural for her to tease Mom. That's just what little brothers and sisters did to big brothers and sisters. It was like some kind of a duty or something. Of course Hal didn't see it that way.

However, now that they were married it didn't seem to bug them that much anymore when they were interrupted. He supposed that that was because they were sleeping in the same bedroom that they could now go off by themselves and do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. He had only the slightest notion of what that was. But what little he knew of it was enough. For now he would rather not think about it. Prudence had no idea of what it was, but since she knew that it meant that Mom would have a baby, she talked about it a lot.

Butch wasn't sure how he felt about his Mom having a baby. He didn't remember when his other Mom had had a baby, Prudence. But come to think of it, he hardly remembered his other Mom at all. He remembered that she was always sick and couldn't take care of them. But he only remembered what she looked like because of pictures. Hal remembered her real well, but he didn't talk about her. Neither did Dad.

Hal was worried sometimes because now that they had a new Mom that Dad would forget their old Mom. Hal didn't tell anyone but him, and he only told him when he got mad at him when he thought that he forgot that he had another Mom.

"Hal," he tried to explain. "It's not that I forget that I had another Mom, it's that I don't remember her. It's not that same thing."

"Yes, it is!" yelled Hal.

That was one of those times that he wished that he was as smart as Trelawney. That was exactly the kind of argument that she could have beaten him in, only he knew that she would never have fought with Hal over that. She had lost her own Mom and Dad and knew what it felt like. But it was hard to miss someone that you didn't remember. Especially when you really liked the new person. And he really liked his Mom. In fact, he really loved her. He even let her kiss him. It was on the cheek of course, but it was still a kiss.

**Challenge of Honor**

One of the reasons that he was so glad that Dad had finally married Mom was that it meant that his teacher, Mrs. Oliver, stopped bugging him about when she would get a ring. Since they got married only a week after she got the ring, it meant that she didn't have much time to bug him about that. Now she was bugging him about when they were going to have a baby. Only she didn't ask him directly, she asked him if Mom was ever sick in the morning. He was getting tired of it.

Then after they got married, his friend Martin Pulski asked him about it too. Only he asked him directly, and in front of all the other kids. Of course he used words that Butch didn't understand. Butch had never known before that there were so many ways of saying that a woman was going to have a baby by not saying that she was going to have a baby.

Martin said that his Dad told his Mom that it would be the next big announcement, and that was when the fun would start. People were even betting at the university about when it would be. Butch didn't like the way it all sounded. It sounded like they were saying mean things about his Mom. And that made him mad. Nobody was going to say things like that about someone that he loved like that. It just wasn't right.

When they were out on the playground at recess, Martin said something about his new Mom already having a bun in the oven. He said it in front of all the other kids and they laughed. He felt stupid because he didn't know what it meant. One of the girls felt sorry for him and whispered it to him. That was when the trouble started.

Nobody was going to talk about his Mom like that. He was so angry that he didn't realize what he was doing until he and Martin were punching each other and the aide was separating them. The next thing he knew, they were in Mrs. Harper's office. She wanted to talk to them separately. Since Martin had a bloody nose and was at the school nurse, he had to go first.

"Okay Butch," she said. "What happened?"

Butch didn't want to answer. He didn't want to have to repeat what Martin said. In case Mrs. Harper might believe it too. But he knew he would be in big trouble if he lied. It was better not to say anything at all.

"Martin said something bad about my Mom," he said defensively. "Nobody can say anything bad about Mom that I'm not going to answer by punching him in the nose."

"What did he say, Butch?" she asked.

"Do I have to tell you?" he asked. "It's kind of personal."

"Well," she said. "If you don't tell me, then you'll have to tell your Mom or your Dad if I call them."

"They're not home right now," replied Butch, very relieved. "My Grammy and Grampie are staying with us so that they can have a little honeymoon."

"Maybe I should call one of them?"

Butch was quiet. Mrs. Harper looked surprised. She seemed to think that he would rather tell her than his grandparents. She was wrong.

"Maybe you should call up my Grampie," he said. "I think that he would understand."

Mrs. Harper got a funny look on her face, but agreed. She told him that he would have to stay in her office until he came. Butch just shrugged. At least it would get him away from Mrs. Oliver for a while.

**The Loyal Son**

Rob Everett wasn't too surprised when he got a phone call from Mrs. Harper, the principal of the elementary school. He knew that Butch had a tendency to act out when things were upset at home. While the recent upset had all been good, the day before had involved dressing up in his best clothes and being on his best behavior. And then his parents had gone away for a few days. He figured that the boy was just blowing off steam. His wife shook her head and said that they should probably go together, but Rob thought that this might be something that he and Butch should deal with man-to-man.

When he arrived at the office, Hal's friend Dr. Pulski, the father of the other kid that Butch had been fighting with was also there. He had met Pulski on Sunday at the blessing. He was not especially fond of him or his sense of humor. His jokes seemed to not only be tasteless, but always at someone else's expense. Apparently if Butch was going to have an adult present, so was Martin. Mrs. Harper clearly knew what she was doing because she decided that all four of them were going to sit down with her.

"I don't want any 'he said, he said' going on. We're all going to hear each other out the first time around. Now who started the fight?" she asked.

Not surprisingly each boy blamed the other.

"Who threw the first punch?" she asked.

"I did," admitted Butch.

"Now that your grandfather is here, will you please tell me why?" she asked.

Rob was curious. When the principal had called him, she had just said that he had been fighting. She did not mention that Butch was refusing to explain why.

Butch and Martin glared at each other. Martin looked as if he was daring him to say it. Butch then looked at him and Rob nodded.

"Martin said that Dad and Mom got married because they had to. He said that his Dad told his Mom that my Dad put a bun in the oven and he didn't want to get burned," said Butch looking at the floor.

Having to say it out loud clearly embarrassed him, but it was nothing like the embarrassment that Dr. Pulski obviously felt. He turned a rather deep shade of red and looked like he wanted to skin his son alive right then and there.

"Did you say that, Martin?" asked Mrs. Harper calmly.

"Yeah, so what about it?" asked Martin defensively.

"It's a lie and you know it!" replied Butch.

"How would you know?" asked Martin. "You didn't even know what it meant until Susie told you."

"Is that when you punched him?" asked Mrs. Harper.

"Heck, yeah!" answered Butch. "Nobody's going to tell lies about my Mom and get away with it."

"It is not a lie!" retorted Martin. "Right, Dad?"

This time it was Dr. Pulski's turn to look at the floor. Rob knew that he had been riding Hal about the same thing the day they got back from the private ceremony. Unfortunately, it appeared that he had said similar things at home. Hal had stood up to him at work, but that obviously hadn't had an effect on how he acted at home.

"Martin, I was . . . uh," admitted Pulski. " . . . joking. I know very well that Mrs. Everett is not going to have a baby."

Martin looked very surprised. Butch looked vindicated. However, Rob did not want him to get the idea that fighting was okay.

"Well, Butch, you were right," he said. "But you can't go through life punching people because you don't like what they say, even if you know that they are telling a lie."

"I haven't punched Mrs. Oliver yet," he answered defensively.

"Who is that?" asked Rob.

"That's my teacher," Butch said defensively. "She's always asking me personal questions about Mom and Dad, but mostly Mom. Sometimes I just want to tell her to shut up and mind her own business. But I can't because she's my teacher."

Mrs. Harper looked very bothered. Rob could see that she was a woman of integrity. In fact, he remembered Hal telling him how effectively she handled the rumor situation last year after Trelawney came. If he weren't so annoyed with Mrs. Oliver, he would have felt sorry for her. Mrs.. Harper did not look like the type of person to suffer fools gladly. However, he wanted some kind of closure, the sooner the better, so that it could all blow over before Hal and Phoebe returned.

Dr. Pulski must have felt the same way, because he said, "Butch, I'm sorry that Martin said what he said. I was joking with my wife and I realize now that what I said really wasn't funny. However, Martin, you did know that it was a mean thing to say and you shouldn't have repeated it."

"I'm sorry that I talked about your Mom that way, Butch," Martin apologized. "It was mean of me to tease you. Your Mom is a really nice lady."

"I accept your apology and I'm sorry that I hit you," said Butch. "I love my Mom a whole lot. She's been really sad and now she's really happy. I don't want to see her sad again."

"Neither do we," said Dr, Pulski. "Can we shake on it?"

The boys shook hands, but Mrs. Harper wasn't done with them.

"It's after school detention for both of you tomorrow," she said. "Now Martin, you go back to class and Butch, I want to talk to you."

"Yes, ma'am," said Martin meekly.

"Am I still in trouble?" asked Butch.

"No," said Mrs. Harper as she watched the Pulskis leave. When the door was closed she turned to Butch and said, "What is this about your teacher asking questions about your parents that upset you?"

"She was asking me a lot of personal questions about when my Mom was getting a ring, and then when was she getting married and then how she was feeling in the morning. I didn't know what the last question meant, but I asked Hal and he told me. I didn't tell him why I asked," he explained.

"Why was that?" asked Rob curiously.

"Well, Hal has Mrs. Oliver's husband for his math and science teacher. Hal says that he's a really groovy guy and I didn't want him to get mad," answered Butch. "I just want Mrs. Oliver to shut up and leave me alone."

"She will," said Mrs. Harper grimly. "I will not have this kind of gossip in my school, nor will I have my students harassed by their teachers. Butch, you may go back to class."

"Before he leaves," said Rob. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she answered.

"Does this have to go home to Butch's parents?" he asked. "You know the stress that they've been under for the past few months. I would like for this to die a natural death here. I very seriously doubt that Dr. Pulski will say anything to Hal. I will make sure that Butch understands that there are better ways of solving problems than punching people in the nose."

"I think that's a good idea," said Butch. "I think that Grampie will do a better job of explaining that than Dad. Dad tells people that he's going to punch them in the nose when he gets mad a lot."

"Well then, I'll have a talk with him too," said Rob.

Mrs. Harper looked as if she was trying to hide a smile and agreed. As they left the office, Rob said to Butch, "Why don't we keep this to ourselves. As you said, we don't want your Mom to be unhappy."

"So will it be our secret?" asked Butch.

"Do you want it to be?" asked Rob.

"Yeah," said Butch. "Hal said that when families have secrets it means that they're really close, like best friends. I want to be like your best friend, Grampie."

"Then it will be our secret," said Rob.

As he drove home, he thought about how nice it was to be getting to know his grandchildren better, especially the boys. He remembered how close he had been to his own grandfather. He knew that Phoebe was always concerned about Butch because he was the middle child and always seemed to feel like he was competing with Hal. Of course, Hal shared a lot more interests with his older son than his younger son. If Butch was reaching out, he thought that it would be a good idea for him to reach back, not just for Butch, but for himself as well.

**Homework Blues**

When Butch got home from school, he really didn't want to talk to anyone. He was still confused about Martin and Dr. Pulski and Mrs. Oliver and why they cared so much about his Mom's business. He felt funny and went right upstairs to do his homework. But not until after he had grabbed as many cookies as he could fit into his hands and pockets.

"Where are you going with all those cookies?" Grammy had asked.

"I have to do my homework and I'm hungry," he answered.

"Are you feeling okay?"

He assured her that he was fine and went upstairs to start his homework. Hal was already up there working. When he pulled out his books and got right down to work, he noticed right away.

"Are you doing your homework?" he asked.

"Yeah, do you have something to say about?" Butch challenged him.

"No," replied Hal. "Are you feeling okay?"

Butch just rolled his eyes. In a minute, Trelawney came in.

"Hal, can you help me with a wee bit of science, please?" she asked.

"Of course," answered Hal importantly. Trelawney was smarter than the other kids in all the other subjects, but she had never taken science before. Last year it wasn't too bad for her, but this year it was much harder. Dad had been real busy in the last two weeks, so she had started coming to Hal for help. Hal, of course, liked that. However, their talking made it hard for him to concentrate on his own homework.

"Do you have to talk so loud?" he grumbled. "Can't a guy get a little quiet around here?"

Hal and Trelawney looked at him, and she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Homework," he answered briefly.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

Butch now sighed and said, " Guy! You would think that I had never done any homework before."

"Not willingly," she replied quickly. "Perhaps we should make a notation on the calendar."

For once, Hal thought that one of her remarks was funny. It was probably because usually she was teasing him. However, he didn't want to answer any questions. It wasn't that he felt bad about punching Martin in the nose. It was that he didn't want to have to explain why. He knew that it would make Hal and Trelawney mad and then he would have to listen to them talk about it over and over again. He really didn't want to talk about anymore, at least not with them.

Trelawney returned to her room and after a while, Prudence came in.

"Hal," she asked. "Is it possible for hell to freeze over?"

"That's ridiculous," he answered. "Who told you that?"

"Trelawney," she answered in her obedient "I'm about to tattle" tone of voice.

Hal smiled. "Why did she say that?"

"Because I asked her why Butch was doing his homework before anyone told him to," she said innocently.

"Oh shut up!" Butch said. "I can't do my homework with all your yacking."

Prudence giggled and said, "Are you feeling okay?"

But she ran out of the room before he could get her. This time Butch rolled his eyes and sighed. But he still wasn't going to say anything to them.

**Man-to-Man**

After dinner, Butch decided that he wanted to have a man-to-man talk with his Grampie. He had few things that he wanted to get off his chest.

"Grampie?" he asked. "Can we have a man-to-man talk? Just you and me?"

Grampie looked at him sympathetically.

"Are you finished with your homework?" he asked.

"Yes," said Butch patiently. "And I'm feeling okay."

"I wasn't going to suggest that you weren't," answered Grampie in his reasonable tone of voice. "Especially after all the dinner you just ate."

"I get hungry when I'm nervous," he admitted.

"Are you nervous?" asked Grampie kindly.

"Kind of," said Butch. "Everybody keeps asking me if I'm feeling okay because I did my homework already, before anyone even told me to. I'm afraid that I'm going to get mad and tell them about, you know, what happened in school today."

"I know," said Grampie. "Just remember that it's our secret. I won't tell, if you won't tell."

"Okay," said Butch. "Can I ask you something?"

Rob Everett figured out that whatever it was, it was the real reason that he had come downstairs. He could see that the other boy's talk about Phoebe had really bothered him.

"Grampie," he asked. "Why do some people act weird because Mom and Dad got married? First they were asking weird questions because they didn't get married. Now they're asking them because they did. First they said that it was taking to long. Now they say that they did it too fast. I think that it's for the same reason. I just don't understand why they can't shut up about it already."

"What do you think that same reason is, Butch?" asked Rob carefully. He had a feeling that he was about to have a conversation that Hal should have had with him already. Fortunately, with three sons of his own, he had a lot of practice with this one."

"I think that it's because they think that Mom and Dad have already made a baby," he answered honestly. "But I don't see how that could have happen. I mean, Mom didn't start to sleep in Dad's room until after they got married. That's when Mom and Dad said that they were going to start trying. Why don't people want to believe that?"

Rob realized that this was going to be easier than he had thought.

"Butch," he said. "The reason that they don't believe you is because some men and women share a bedroom before they get married. Now we don't think that that's right, but they do. Your Mom and Dad wanted to do things right. That means that they waited until after they were married."

Butch thought and then said, "But some people say that they could have been doing that, whatever it is that makes babies, even before Mom moved into Dad's bedroom."

Scratch that, thought Rob. This will be a tough one. However, when he considered the behavior of his older sons over the weekend, he decided that he would do this right with Butch.

"Do you know what it is that men and women do to make babies?" he asked.

"Not really," replied his grandson. "I know that it is something that they do in bed and that it has something to do with kissing. But that's it."

"Well," answered Rob. "Kissing is a good place to start. Do you know why men and women kiss?"

"Because they love each other," answered Butch. "We knew that Mom and Dad loved each other for sure when I saw them kissing while Mr. Feathers was here. And it wasn't a friendly kiss. They were really going at it. Then Hal and Trelawney tricked him and he went away because he knew that Mom really loved Dad. Ever since then they've been doing a lot of kissing. Now I know it's because they really love each. Sometimes I think that it's gross."

"Why is that?" asked Rob curiously.

"Because they both open their mouths," said Butch. "I figure that they must really love each other to do that. And they hug a lot. They spend a lot of time sitting in the living room together. It's weird because sometimes they don't even talk. Dad reads and Mom knits or something."

"You really have been paying close attention to what they've been doing," commented Rob.

"Well," said Butch. "I just wanted to make sure that they were still in love. It felt like it took forever for Dad to ask her to marry him. And everybody kept asking me."

Rob realized that he could clarify the situation for Butch without going into the details. If he thought that Phoebe and Hal kissing was gross, chances were that he was not ready to hear about the details of baby making.

"Well, Butch, I can tell you for sure that your Mom is not going to have a baby yet. However, she and your Dad really want a baby, so chances are that sooner or later she will. It's important for you to know that once they make the baby, it takes about nine months for the baby to grow big enough to be born. That means that you are not going to be seeing any babies around here until July at the earliest, but probably later than that," he explained.

"Okay, that makes sense," said Butch. "Mom said that babies were a blessing from God and that they had to grow in the Mom's tummy until they was big enough to come out. Does that mean that Dad has to help too?"

"Yes, it does," said Rob with a smile. "You can't have a baby without a Mom and a Dad."

Rob watched Butch as he processed this information. He looked relieved.

"Grampie, can I ask you something else that doesn't have to do with making babies?" he asked.

"Sure, champ," said Rob. "As long as we're talking, why don't you ask all your questions."

"Well," said Butch. "It's about my other Mom. Hal is mad at me because he says that I forgot her. He doesn't understand that I didn't forget her. I just don't remember her. The only way that I know what she looks like is from pictures."

"I'm not sure that Hal is mad at you," said Rob. "I do think that he's sad because he's the only one of you kids who remembers her."

"Well, he sure sounds mad sometimes," replied Butch. "It's kind of funny, because when Nana and Papa came, he was mad at Nana too."

Rob became wary. This was obviously a touchy subject, especially with Butch because not only did he repeat things, sometimes he repeated them inaccurately.

"Why were you all mad at Nana?" he asked cautiously.

"She was really mean to Mom. And then she said that Dad really didn't love Mom because he didn't give her a ring," said Butch. "Nana got mad at me and Prudence because we wanted her to be our Mom. She thought that we forgot our other Mom. She thought that we didn't love her anymore. But it's hard to love someone that you don't even know."

"I can see both sides of this, Butch," said Rob. "Nana obviously remembers and loves your first Mom very well. It makes her sad to think that your new Mom is taking her place."

"But did she think that we were never going to have a Mom again? Did she think that Dad was never going to have a wife?" asked Butch. "Mom loves us so much and she loves Dad even more. And, well, now that she's really my Mom, it's hard to remember when she wasn't my Mom."

Rob was stuck because he realized that that was exactly what Bernice had expected. She seemed to have thought that Hal would never remarry. And now, after hardly seeing the children for almost four years, she wanted to reconnect with them. But she was refusing to acknowledge Phoebe as their stepmother. He did not want to take the chance of ruining Bernice's opportunities for a relationship later on, but he also wanted to support Phoebe.

"Butch, I think that your Nana still feels very sad about your first Mom. You know how sad your Mom has been because her parents passed away? And how sad Trelawney has been?" he asked.

Butch nodded. "They have been very, very sad."

"Well it's kind of the same way with your Nana. Only she's sad because your first Mom was her daughter. Once you lose a daughter you really can't have another. But it's different because you can possibly have a new Mom or Dad. We call them 'steps.' Technically speaking, your Mom is really your stepmother," he tried to explain.

"I don't know," said Butch. "She feels like a pretty real Mom to me."

Rob sighed. "Okay, Butch. How about this? Hopefully someday, your Nana will realize that your new Mom is good for the family. She loves you all a lot, and makes you all happy. If she does, you have to be ready to love her."

Butch thought about it and said, "Okay, but she has to change first. I'm never going to stop loving my Mom. Do I have to see her?"

"It would be nice if you would," said Rob.

"Well, me and Prudence talked it over and we don't want to see her. We love our Mom and we don't want to take any chances on hurting her," replied Butch.

"Do you think that seeing Nana and Papa will hurt her?" asked Rob.

"Yes," said Butch immediately. "I think that Nana wants to hurt her. I just want to keep her safe from Nana. You know, like the way I want to keep her safe from Dr. Pulski and Mrs. Oliver."

Rob sat quietly lost in thought for a moment. He could see that his grandson not only loved Phoebe. But was also very loyal and protective. It was a sign that his own son was doing a very good job of parenting. And he was effectively demonstrating the respectful way that a man treated a woman, especially a woman that he loved. Of course it was very difficult not to love Phoebe. He realized that if Bernice didn't turn herself around, she could easily lose at least two of her only grandchildren.

Butch then interrupted his thoughts by saying, "I think that it's time for me to go to bed. Thanks for talking to me, Grampie. You helped a lot."

"I'm glad Butch. Do you have a hug for your Grampie?"

"Yes, sir," the young boy replied and gave him a big hug.

**Epilogue: The End of the Day**

Later that night, after all the children were in bed, Rob and Catherine sat in the living room to "debrief" after their day. It was an old habit of theirs from the days when they were raising their three boys and they decided to pick it up again as long as they were staying with the grandkids. Tonight Butch was the central focus of the conversation, both what had happened in school and then later his questions about Bernice Williams.

Catherine was very unhappy to hear about Butch's teacher and the confusion that she was causing for him with regard to Phoebe and Hal's relationship.

"I believe that all of this attention that she is giving to gossip and innuendo has been very difficult for Butch to manage. It's certainly uncalled for, especially since he doesn't understand most of it," she said.

"And I don't think that he's ready to understand it either," replied Rob. "That supposed friend of Hal's sounds like a real jerk. Hopefully this incident, which I know was very embarrassing to him, has taught him a lesson about making foolish comments. I am not worried about the teacher anymore. I have a feeling that Mrs. Harper is going to come down hard on her."

Rob had decided not to go into Butch's concerns about the facts of life and his parents. Catherine was bothered enough by Prudence's questions about baby-making yesterday. He would speak to Hal about behaving like a teenager in the back seat of his father's car, in front of the kids anyway. He suspected that Hal was not even aware of what most of the things that the kids were seeing. There did seem to be a certain amount of spying going on. The issue of Bernice was thornier.

"There really is nothing that we can do about that," said Catherine. "Obviously Hal and Phoebe know about it. After what went on throughout Helen's illness and even before, it is difficult for me to be sympathetic."

"I guess that I am most curious about what our grandson Hal is thinking. It took him more than a week to finally call Phoebe, Mom. But now he seems to have no problems," he said.

"Hal always was very close to Helen. I think that it was a combination of him being her firstborn and the fact that he is so much like his father. Butch has always been a more active child and into everything. And by the time that Prudence was old enough to have a relationship with her, she was gone," said Catherine, as she thought aloud. "But apparently our grandson Hal hasn't been rushing to renew his ties with them either."

"Just because he misses Helen doesn't mean that he feels the same way about her parents," said Rob. "Hal is also smart enough to distinguish his relationship with Phoebe from the one that he had with Helen. Considering how kind and thoughtful Phoebe is, it makes it very hard for him to feel negatively about her, just because Bernice does."

"They chose to pretty much break ties with the kids in the last few years. They can't expect to just come back in and pick up where they left off," commented Catherine.

"We haven't been much different," pointed out Rob. "However, we welcomed Phoebe into the family before she and Hal even knew they were attracted to each other. And now we're not only giving them love and support, we're working to rebuild things with the kids."

"Well, Rob," she said. "That brings us to another point. I am really enjoying being around the kids more. And I get the feeling that Phoebe and Hal need the support. They don't complain, but it must be very hard for them to get time alone. The three kids are a handful and I get the feeling that Trelawney can be a real challenge."

"I know what you're going to say, but before we completely uproot ourselves, I think that we should make sure that we wouldn't be in the way," said Rob.

"I get the feeling from Phoebe," replied Catherine. "That we would not be. I suspect that she needs more support than Hal realizes. She appears to be very strong, but she is still grieving and the difficulties with Trelawney make things harder. And he is very busy at the university. My relationship with her is entirely different than it was with Helen. It's not just about Bernice. Phoebe and I have more compatible personalities. There's no competition."

"Phoebe is very different from Helen, but you also have to remember that she's quite a bit younger than Hal. The dynamic between them is very different. She seems more dependent on Hal than at first glance. There is also something up with her family that has me concerned," he said.

"Well Rob, I just wanted you to know that I am ready to stay here for as long as they need us. We can make more final decisions later. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling that they need us now," answered Catherine.

Rob smiled. "And you want to be around when more of those grandchildren come along. She's a born mother. I have no doubt that some time next summer there will be an addition to the family."

"And you'll want to be close by as much as I do," she added with a smile.

"Of course, I do. We're pretty funny, the two of us, talking about wanting to stay here to help them," he laughed. "I think that we're the ones who want to be around for more time with the family."

Rob was pleased that his wife was so happy. He remembered how disappointed she had been last Christmas when she thought that she had failed to spark a romance between Hal and Phoebe. When she had discovered that things were moving in this direction, he knew that she had been hoping against what seemed like impossible odds that they would marry. Now that they were married, it was almost like a dream come true for all of them.

Catherine and Phoebe had a warm and loving relationship. They had been fully accepted back into the lives of their grandchildren. Their son was happy again and reconnected with his children. And he had a beautiful young wife who adored him and was eager to give him more children. Phoebe was nothing less than a blessing from God. And the entire Everett family was blessed that she had joined them.

The conflicts with the outside world, such as Butch had just experienced, had shown them all that he was a good and loyal son. Prudence clearly had accepted her into her heart as her "real" mother. Even Hal was calling her Mom now. It was all due to the love that this one woman had brought into the family. She even had them all going to church again. Things were looking very good for Hal's family, and he and Catherine now had the chance to be a part of it. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.

**The End**

_What happens when two people in love get married? It's obvious! However we have to get there first. It will be useful for readers to realize that some of the future stories will overlap in order to give multiple perspectives._

_To be continued . . ._


End file.
